In My Dreams
by Kyizi
Summary: [NOW COMPLETE] Lita is having issues with her new storyline...as is the real father of her child. Will they ever sit down and talk?
1. Prologue

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairing: **TBC

**Spoilers: **Up to and (over the next part or so) including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **kyizifanfic hotmail . com

**Notes:** This fic just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone! I decided to put pen to paper (okay fingers to keyboard) and just ride it out and see where it took me!

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**Prologue **

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She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, trying not to cry. She had never thought things would ever get to the point where she didn't want to come to work, but they had. Everything had happened so fast that she hadn't been able to say no when they had told her the new storyline. She hated that. She really hated being called a slut on national television, more so because she knew that Trish Status meant it. Everyone knew the blonde had meant it and yet they still pasted on a smile and congratulated her even though they were all wondering one thing; who was the father.

She let out a morbid chuckle. _Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake,_ she thought. _Wouldn't they just love to know the answer to that question? _She knew that Matt wanted to know, so did Jeff, but Matt was the only one who kept asking. She didn't want to tell them. She couldn't tell them. The father didn't want to know and she wasn't about to tell them that he didn't want her or the baby. She knew what they'd do, they'd challenge him and then they'd get hurt. Jeff wasn't even wrestling at the moment and he'd still come back to do that.

She didn't know why it bothered her so much that he didn't care she was carrying his child, but it did. She had never professed to be in love with him, he wasn't a particularly loveable guy, in fact, he was a pretty nasty piece of work by all accounts. But there had just been something about him, something that made her want to stay with him forever. He may have hurt her in the past, he still hurt a lot of people, but there had just been something in the way he had held her that had made her feel safe and wanted. He had cared for her, even if he had never loved her. And, to Lita, that meant something. It meant a lot. If only he had cared enough when it had come out that she was pregnant.

She knew she should have told him herself, but what was she supposed to have done? Waltzed into his dressing room and announced it in front of a lot of people that would quite happily beat her up, pregnant or not? She couldn't have told him, but he should have known. He knew she hadn't been sleeping around, she had never even been sure what had made her want to sleep with him, but she had. Only him. He knew he was the father…he had to, and that meant there as only one conclusion. He didn't care.

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He wasn't sure why it irritated him so much not to know. He wasn't the perfect man, he knew that, hell, everyone knew that, but not knowing was killing him. He had suspected the moment the announcement came. Hell, everyone knew the kid wasn't Hardy's, they hadn't been a couple off screen for almost a year. So it was no surprise when they decided to use the baby in a storyline like _that_.

But he hated it. He really hated it. He hated watching her pretend to smile as the congratulations came in. He hated watching Hardy fawn over her as though the kid really was his. He hated the whole Kane storyline. He hated Trish for calling her a slut when he knew that wasn't true. But most of all, he hated himself for being too scared to approached her, for being too scared to ask the one question that was in his thoughts every waking moment. He hated himself for not asking if the baby was his.

He knew Lita, pretty well, by all accounts, even if no one had ever known of the few times they had been together. He knew her well enough to know one thing; Lita was not a slut. Which lead him to one conclusion, a conclusion he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to reach: the baby was his and he had no idea what to do about that.

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**End Prologue**

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	2. Part One

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairing: **TBC

**Spoilers: **Up to and (over the next part or so) including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **kyizifanfic hotmail . com

**Notes: **Okay, **KanesAngel16** asked; "I'm a bit confused, are people in this fic WWE characters or the people who play them? [Like is Lita Amy Dumas or Lita?]" Okay, I don't write fics with actor's real names, and that includes WWE real names, hence why Edge's real name was Edward in 'In A Breath'. This fic takes the perspective that they are playing characters, but they're still fictional _people_, i.e. Lita is still called Lita, Edge is still called Edge (although, it's likely to be a nickname), but they have to play storyline on camera. Make sense? Hope so! 

**Cradle of Filth:** I don't hate Kane, I hate the storyline with Kane, Matt and Lita. ;) As for the other part of your review, a lot of people theorised that the baby was a Hardy, but let me quote something the father was thinking in the prologue that should answer that… "_He hated watching Hardy fawn over her as though the kid really was his."_ It's clearly not Matt and, apart from the fact that Jeff isn't in action at this point in the storyline, I doubt that he'd call Matt, Hardy! ;)

Just so you all know, the father is not who you would think, trust me! My only hope is that you don't all give up reading if he's not whom you want!

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**Part One**

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"Hey, Li, you okay?"

She looked up and blinked a few times, trying to get her bearings. She had been wandering the halls aimlessly for around twenty minutes, so it was a surprise to find that she as no longer alone with her thoughts.

"Oh, hey, Edge, yeah, I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile onto her face.

He frowned and stepped a little closer, placing a hand on her arm. "You sure? You look a little pasty. Do you want to sit down? I can get you some water or maybe you'd like milk? Or are you craving something else? Maybe I could-"

"Edge!" She laughed at the worried frown creasing his forehead. "I'm pregnant, not broken. You don't need to wait on me hand and foot."

"Wait on you, huh? Like with slaves and stuff? You're into role-playing?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows. "I think I could handle that, what do you say you and me-" Lita laughed and swatted his arm, glad that he was trying to treat her like he always had. "So," he asked, "where you headed?"

"Locker room," she replied. It had been her original destination before she had spotted Trish heading her way and decided she would rather lose herself somewhere in the arena than handle a confrontation.

"The women's locker room is that way, honey. I thought you were pregnant, not senile."

"Hey!" She glared at him and he laughed. "I'm going to yours, Matt's and Chris' locker room."

"You couldn't stand to be away from us, huh?"

"More like I couldn't stand to listen to Molly quote the bible at me one more time. She thinks I'm living in sin and need to marry Kane."

Edge frowned. "She knows that's just a storyline, right?" At her look he chuckled. "You're right, this is Molly. I wonder what Kane would think of that."

Lita laughed. "You know Kane, he'd probably get down on one knee in front of her and pretend he was asking me for real."

Edge laughed and nodded, knowing the Big Red Machine's real life love of practical jokes. "Come on," he linked her arm through his, leading her towards the locker room. "Let's go see if jerky has killed Matt yet. They were bickering like an old married couple when I left earlier."

Lita laughed. It felt good to smile again, she wasn't sure when she had last done that and meant it. They walked in silence and Lita was glad of that. Edge hadn't asked her who the father was and neither had Chris, although she hadn't really expected them to. She and Edge were close, but not that close and Chris was her best friend. He knew when to push her and when to leave her alone. This was most definitely one of those times to leave her alone.

She was glad that Matt was there with them tonight, even though he wasn't needed for the show. After his match with Kane at Vengeance, he had been given the night off, but had decided to come to the arena anyway. She knew that she was the reason and she felt as though that should make her feel guilty, she was, after all, making him feel he had to protect her, but she couldn't. Matt had been by her side since she had discovered she was pregnant. Whilst Chris was her best friend, Lita couldn't expect him to give up his own life and be with her all the time. He had his own life and she had respected that and taken Matt's offer of going with her to the doctor.

She knew that Chris had been upset when he had found out that she had asked Matt, but he had understood her reluctance to ask him. He had been spending so much time with his girlfriend that they had begun to drift slowly apart. That had all ended with the discovery of her pregnancy and she hated to think that she was taking all of his time, but she needed him. She needed him so much it hurt and she only hoped that she wouldn't lose him completely when he found out who was the father of her child.

"Earth to Lita."

She shook her head and looked up at him. "What?"

"I said, have you spoken to Kane about tonight's spot yet?"

She shook her head and smiled. "No, I haven't. Chris said he's going to let us wing it, though. The writers agreed and I know Kane will agree with what I have planned. He hates this as much as me."

"It is storyline," Edge said softly, almost as if he didn't want it to be either. In fact, she was sure he didn't. Everyone hated it, especially those involved. Kane had almost taken Bischoff's head off when he'd heard. It was no secret that Bischoff hated both Lita and Kane as much as his on screen character, so that he had spoken to the writers and concocted the storyline had come as no surprise to anyone.

"Bischoff sucks," she muttered and Edge nodded in agreement.

"That he does, sweetie," he said, wrapping an arm around her and hurrying her along a little. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair and the last thing he wanted was to run into them. It was one thing for Molly, in her innocence, to get caught up with storyline as fact, but the members of Evolution were worse. They fell into the group that used storyline as an excuse to vent out their personal vendettas.

Whilst most of the wrestlers they worked with were careful and made sure that moves were executed with precision and minimal damage, some took every opportunity to hurt people by any means. Proving that it happened, however, was next to impossible. Wrestlers got hurt and sometimes moves went wrong so being able to verify that someone had injured their opponent on purpose was not easy, specifically when those wrestlers were some of Vince's golden boys.

Whilst the jury was still out on Batista, Edge knew from personal experience that Orton and Flair would hurt anyone they wanted. Lita included. He knew that they were unlikely to care if she was pregnant. Luckily Triple H wasn't with them and Lord knew he was the worst. If he had been there and Edge hadn't been with Lita, he would not have trusted his friend to leave in one piece.

"They haven't seen us," Lita said softly, breaking his train of thought.

"I'm not taking any chances. They could hurt you and the baby and make it sound like an accident." Edge drew her even closer and quickly turned the corner, making their way to the locker room as quickly as they could without him forcing Lita into a run.

Lita leaned her head against his chest and let him lead her. She tried not to think that the members of Evolution could have found her alone had Edge not reached her first and, instead, focussed on where they were going. Frowning, she glanced around, feeling as though someone was watching her, but she couldn't see anyone. She shivered and, after informing Edge that, no, she wasn't cold, she took another look behind her.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Someone was following her with their eyes and she didn't like not knowing who it was. Part of her thought, or perhaps simply hoped, that maybe she knew who it was. She tried not to get her hopes up; he had, after all, shown no interest so far. In fact, he hadn't even acknowledged her at all. But that small part of her refused to be silenced and she wondered if maybe the baby's father was looking out for them after all.

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**End of Part One **

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	3. Part Two

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairing: **TBC …in this part, actually! ;)

**Spoilers: **Up to and including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **kyizifanfic[at]hotmail[dot]com

**Yahoo! Group: **KyiziFic

**Notes:** This was handwritten and typed up quickly. As always, it's not beta-d, so apologies for any mistakes.

xxxxx

**Part Two **

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He felt dirty. There was just something about the entire storyline that got under his skin, no matter how often he apologised. He had never cared about storyline in the past, so long as he got to fight, he was even known for being brutal in the ring, but he didn't like where he was. He hadn't really cared about much of anything since _her_.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to hide the small smile playing on his lips. The show was over, but there were some things he was sure he'd remember for years to come. She had been amazing. He knew that she had been allowed to make her speech up herself and he had no doubt that Kane had had real trouble keeping a straight face during her tirade. He certainly had.

He had been debating with himself as to whether or not he should find her, he wanted to talk to her, but he wasn't sure how well he would be received. He had had someone watching her since the moment he found out she was pregnant, with explicit instructions to 'stay unseen but, no matter what he ad to do, protect her at all costs', but he still wasn't sure what he would do if anything were to happen to her. Watching her throughout the night, he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to protect her, he wanted to look after her…but more importantly he wanted to be with her and he wanted to be a father to his child. He just had no idea how to go about it.

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"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lita squealed, throwing her arms around a surprised JR.

"Not that I'm not pleased that you seem happy," he said with a laugh as they pulled apart, "but what did I do to deserve this?"

Lita raised her eyebrows. "_'There's Trish, speaks three languages, can't say 'no' in any of them'_"

JR smiled. "Okay, so perhaps I improvised a little."

"You should improvise more often."

He chuckled. "So should you. That was quite the tongue lashing you gave Kane. I'm surprised he was able to keep a straight face."

"So am I actually," she said with a laugh. "He was barely able to make it through the back before he started laughing."

"That sounds about right." He took a proper look at her and his smile widened. "You're looking well."

"Give it a few months, then I'll just be looking fat."

JR shook his head. "I don't think so. Pregnancy definitely suits you. You look radiant."

Lita frowned. "Is that word reserved only for the pregnantly challenged? I've been told that almost every day for weeks and I'd never heard it used before."

"That doesn't mean it's not true."

"Well, thank you again." She frowned. "How's Eugene?"

"He's fine. It went well tonight. Hunter barely touched him."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Really." JR nodded. "I think he really likes the boy. Was sitting with him while he got cleaned up."

"Wow."

"Indeed."

Lita shook her head and grinned wickedly. "Anyway, do you think you'll be able to find a way to insult Trish on a weekly basis? I know a lot of people who would like that. I would be one of them."

JR laughed. "I'll see what I can do. Now, you had better get going before those delinquent friends of yours decide to leave you behind."

"Oh, they won't," Lita said. "I'm pregnant. Twice the hormones, twice the anger, twice the excuse. Chris says that makes me scary."

He chuckled. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

"Don't be silly. I'll be fine." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and headed to the door, waving at him before heading back through the empty hallways.

"Look who it is."

She tensed, but kept walking until her path was blocked.

Orton smirked at her. "Look who's all alone in a deserted hallway. Surely that's a risk, given your…condition."

"Get out of my way," Lita said, hoping she didn't sound as scared as she was. She clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to place them over her abdomen. It would only fuel them further.

"Hey, hey, is that any way to talk to your colleagues?" Flair asked, the slimy smile on his face sending a shiver down her spine.

"Given that you are said colleagues, I'd say 'yes'." She glanced around quickly, hoping that there was some escape from the two men, but they were effectively blocking her way. Even if she were to turn tail and run, she knew she would not make it back to JR's locker room before they caught her, even if the announcer were still in his locker room.

"So, lovely Lita," Orton said, stepping even closer to her. "Why don't you follow us and-"

"And what? In fact, I don't care what your perverted little mind comes out with. Answer is 'no'."

He quickly grabbed her by the hair and clamped a hand over her mouth, whilst Flair stood guard, a horrible smile on his face. Lita struggled in vain, trying to keep her wide eyes from focussing on him, but the more she pulled away, the harder he tugged her hair, forcing her to look at him.

"That was more of a rhetorical question. You see, the answer is 'yes'. Come on, say it. 'Yes, Randy'." He forced her head into moving up and down and she couldn't stop the tears coursing down her cheeks.

There was a sudden thud and a short lived cry of pain to her left, before Orton was torn away from her. She pulled herself flat against the wall and slid to the ground, fingers clawing into her knees as she tried to stop herself from shaking.

She screamed as the man pulled her into his embrace, trying to get free. She hadn't even seen him disposing of Orton. She had to get free. She couldn't let them hurt her baby.

"Shh, it's okay. Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

It took a moment for the words to penetrate her panic, but it was eventually the tone of his voice that soothed her. She stopped struggling and allowed him to pull her up and into his arms, cradling her like a child. A few slight movements from the prone forms of Flair and Orton caused her to tense, but he spoke softly and moved quickly away from them.

She didn't know why she trusted him. Everything in her head was screaming that she should struggle to get away, that she should be running, but the tone of his voice spoke of more. He wouldn't hurt her. Something in her heart knew that.

"Why?" she asked softly. "Why are you helping me?"

He glanced at her for a moment. "Are you kidding? The father of that kid of yours would kill me if I let anything happen to you."

"You know," she said softly. It wasn't a question. She had even suspected for a while that he might. "He told you."

"Lita, I knew while the two of you were together."

"What?" Her head snapped up.

He smiled and it really wasn't as creepy as she had always thought. "I came by one morning to get some of my stuff. You were fast asleep and my manhood was threatened."

She chuckled. "That sounds about right."

"Yeah, well, they don't call him the cerebral assassin for nothing."

"No," she said with a sigh, "they don't." She took another minute to study his face, but he didn't seem to mind. "Batista?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He smiled again. "You're very welcome, Lita."

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**End of Part Two**

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**Notes:** Well done to Karen U and Jill for being the only people to correctly voice their thoughts on the father.


	4. Part Three

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairing: **Lita/Hunter, others to be decided.

**Spoilers: **Up to and including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **

**Notes:** This was handwritten and typed up quickly. As always, it's not beta-d, so apologies for any mistakes.

xxxxx

**Part Three**

xxxxx

The sound of raised voices caused her to groan and snuggle further into his arms. She hoped he wouldn't mind, but she really didn't care. His grip tightened and she could tell that he was looking forward to the upcoming confrontation as much as she was.

"-mean, you don't know where she is?"

"I mean that we can't find her, and if I find that you or your little cronies laid one finger on her I'll-"

"I haven't seen her, but maybe you should quit shouting at me and go find her. She's pregnant, for Christ's sake, what if-"

"What if what? Like you care-"

Lita took a deep breath as Batista nudged the door open and glared at her friends; Chris in particular. "He might care a lot more than you'd think."

"Oh, my God!" Lilian Garcia's eyes widened as she took in her friends pale features. "Lita, are you okay?"

"Get your hands off her you-"

"Matt, it's okay. He helped me." Lita nodded to Batista and, although he seemed reluctant, he let go of her legs, helping her to stand.

"He helped you?"

"Yes, Edge, he helped me."

"Why?" Lilian frowned, looking at the man. "It's not that we're not grateful, but why would you want help her?"

"Because I told him to." All eyes turned to Hunter, but his was fixed entirely on Lita. Realisation dawned on Lilian and Edge, but Matt and Chris seemed too angry to be anything other than confused. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking almost as if he wanted to go to her but was unsure of how he would be received.

Lita nodded mutely, not quite trusting herself to speak.

"What happened?" Lilian asked.

Sensing that Lita really did not want to talk, Batista replied. "Orton and Flair happened." Whilst Matt, Chris and Edge exploded at the news, Lita watched as Hunter's eyes hardened, showing more fury than she would have thought possible.

"I'll kill them." Chris took off towards the door, but, on cue from Hunter, Batista blocked his path. "Get out of my way," Chris said, annunciating every word furiously.

"No. This does not leave the room."

Chris whirled round to Triple H, but it was Edge that got to the man first. "What the hell are you paying at," he ground out.

"I'm playing at their game."

"What?"

The look in Hunter's eyes was enough to make Edge step back in surprise. "I'm going to have a little chat with the writers and then I'm going to take them out. I'm going to take them out where they can't touch me for it. Flair may have been the dirtiest player in the game at one point, but I'm the smartest; I'm the sneakiest; and I intend to show them that they can't play _my_ game."

"And why should you care?" Matt demanded and Hunter glanced at Lita before replying.

"Because no one hurts the mother of my child."

There was a stunned silence in the room. Despite having suspected it, even Lilian and Edge were shocked by the statement; perhaps more by the vehemence in Triple H's voice. Chris was stuttering, nearing the stages of an apoplectic fit and Matt was just staring at Lita...and she wasn't sure she could handle the look in his eyes any more than the one in Hunter's. Instead, she gazed at the floor.

"I think we should give them some time alone." Had Lita been fully in control of her senses, she would have been surprised to find that it had been Batista that had spoken.

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving her in here with-"

"Chris, it's okay." Realising that, whilst she was afraid of what he would say, she needed to talk to Hunter. Besides, there was one thing she was certain of. "He won't hurt me."

Looking rather like they would rather be force fed spiders, her friends left her alone in the room. She turned to Batista as he closed the door and mouthed her thanks one last time before being left with Hunter. The father of her child. She was terrified.

"Are-are you okay?"

At the uncertainty in his voice, she looked at him and smiled softly. "Thanks to Batista, yeah, I'm okay. I-I just got a little spooked."

"I'll kill them."

"Hunter, don't get so angry that you don't know what you're doing, you could-"

"Oh, I'll know exactly what I'm doing. Believe me."

"Why?"

He frowned. "What do you mean why? That's my baby you're carrying and I-"

"So now you care?" Lita exploded. "For weeks I have been walking around this company being called a slut; being treated like a leaper; being ignored; walking in on conversations that suddenly stop; but most of all, being alone. You have no idea what it has been like knowing that you didn't care! You have no idea what I've had to go through! Even my friends, who love me, looked at me like a stranger because I wouldn't tell them who the father was.

"I'm just Lita; just one of the guys. Everybody knows all about me, but they didn't know about this, so they figure maybe I am a slut. Maybe I am just sleeping around. Maybe I _don't_ know who the father is. Maybe I just ran out and found the first person I could because no one would ever actually want me!"

Lita closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths, unsure as to when it was that she had got so close to him. The look in his eyes had hurt her, but nothing hurt as much as the way he had made her feel ever since that strip had changed colour.

"Of course someone would want you, Lita."

"You didn't." She opened her eyes and shook her head before he could protest. "You didn't want me anymore, Hunter, so, please, don't try to make it all better."

"Lita, that's-"

"Not true? Yes, it is." She jumped back as he reached for her. "Don't. Just don't. You wanted nothing to do with me or my child until now. It's too late for me, but I won't shut you out of this baby's life. Just...please don't do anything stupid."

Before he could stop her, she turned on her heel and ran out into the corridor. She was vaguely aware of him shouting after her, but she kept running. She didn't bother going back to the dressing room; Lilian would pick up her stuff...but she just couldn't face her friends.

She swiped at her eyes and turned the corner to the parking lot, hoping that she could talk the security man into calling her a taxi. She didn't have her purse with her, but she could get money when she got back to the hotel; at that moment all she cared about was leaving everything behind...even if it was only for a little longer.

"Lita."

"Please, just leave me alone." She turned to face him. "Please, Batista, just-"

"Dave."

"What?"

He smiled. "You can call me Dave. I feel like I'm back in high school with everyone only using my last name."

She managed a small smile. "Please, Dave, not now."

He took a step towards her. "I promise I won't take you anywhere you don't want to go, or make you speak to anyone you don't want to, but with Orton and Flair around, it's not safe for you to be walking around the arena on your own."

After a moments deliberation, she nodded. "Okay."

"Come on," he said, indicating to his car. "I'll drive you back to the hotel."

She alked to his side and allowed him to put an arm around her. It felt safe...but he wasn't who she wanted by her side. "Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks...again."

He laughed. "You're beginning to make a habit out of this."

"Maybe you're just desperate and have some kind of Superman complex."

"Maybe. Lita?"

"Yeah?"

"You're welcome...again."

xxxxx

**End of Part Three**

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Okay, that ended a little differently than I had intended. I guess my muses weren't ready for Lita and Hunter to make nice! Okay, I am desperate for Batista to have a pairing in this one and possibly Shawn Michaels. Also, I mentioned in a previous part about Y2J having a girlfriend, therefore, I'm going to open a poll at KyiziFic and Karen U's list, KarenFic. For those that are not members of either list but want their say, here are the choices, just let me know in a review.

Batista/Lilian  
Batista/Victoria  
Batista/Stacy  
Shawn/Lilian  
Shawn/Victoria  
Shawn/Ivory  
Chris/Lilian  
Chris/Stacy  
Chris/Original Character


	5. Part Four

**In My Dreams **

**By Kyizi **

**Disclaimer**: The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian.

**Spoilers:** Up to and including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback:** please, it makes me smile :)

**Notes:** Well, I'm back. All excuses etc for disappearing are in my profile (or will be when the darn thing updates!), but sorry! Okay, I finally closed the poll on pairings for this one and the decisions are in. Thanks for all the reviews etc. Hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

**Part Four **

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The drive back to the hotel was thankfully quick and Lita was grateful. As much as she appreciated his presence and his help, Batista was a link to Hunter and at that precise moment she didn't want that. She thanked him, intending to leave him in the lobby in case the wrong people should see them together, but he insisted on walking her to her room. Realising she had left her keys in her bag, she cursed under her breath before knocking lightly on the door and hoping that Victoria was still up.

"My God, are you all right?" her friend exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug the moment the door was completely open.

"I'm fine."

"I've had Chris on the phone for the last twenty minutes telling me that you'd been abducted."

Lita smiled slightly. "Chris always was a drama queen."

"You're lucky I know that or I might have panicked."

"Technically, he was telling the truth, though," Batista added, smiling a little as Victoria looked up, only just realising that she and her friend were not alone.

"I'm sure you have an explanation for this," Victoria said, still in shock, "but can I ask one thing? Am I going to like it?"

"Probably not." Lita sighed. "Dave, you should come in before anyone sees you lurking by our door."

The man nodded and followed the two of them into the room. He perched himself on the desk by the doorway, looking more that a little uncomfortable.

"So, when did this happen?" Victoria demanded, her initial shock wearing off. She clearly wasn't intimidated by the man's height, although he _was _almost sitting on the desk and she was half way across the room; either way, Lita couldn't help but be amused. Especially when she realised that Dave wasn't entirely comfortable with the way the fiery brunette was glaring at him.

"Dave's not the father," Lita said softly and Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. "Hunter is."

It took a moment for the words to register with her friend and, had Lita not been so worried as to the outcome, she might have actually laughed at the reaction.

"It's not Batista?" Victoria said slowly.

"No."

"The father of your child is Hunter Hearst Helmsley…Triple H?"

"Yes."

Victoria nodded slowly before erupting. "And that makes it so much better!"

Lita looked at the floor and closed her eyes. She had expected her friend to react badly, but that didn't make it any easier. A few moments later she sensed Victoria approaching.

"I'm sorry, Li. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just a bit of a surprise, to say the least." Victoria sighed and Lita looked up at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What would you have said?"

"Probably something along the lines of 'are you insane?'"

Lita smiled. "Exactly. I just…didn't know how to tell you."

"I take it Chris and the others know." Lita nodded and Victoria chuckled slightly. "I would have paid money to be in that room."

A light rumbling of laughter behind them caused the women to look at Dave. "Sorry," he said with a smile.

"I take it you _were_ in that room."

Dave nodded. "Yeah, and I'm thinking I should probably not stay in _this_ room much longer. Your friends should be back and there's no telling how long it will take Randy and Ric to regain consciousness and get back here. I don't want to be questioned about where I've been if we're going to follow Hunter's plan."

Lita nodded, but Victoria just looked between then, confused. "Why were Orton and Flair unconscious? What plan? You mean Triple H has a plan other than getting down on his knees and begging forgiveness." She looked at Lita. "I'm assuming he has something to beg forgiveness for given that you seemed so sure he didn't care when we asked why you hadn't told the father."

Lita shrugged, but Dave answered the question. "He has a lot of begging to do." He focussed his gaze on Lita. "And don't be too surprised if he actually does it, Lita. He's been falling apart since he found out about this baby, made him even more angry at himself for turning you away."

"Somehow I can't see the two of you having had a heart to heart," Victoria said to him, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"A blind man could have seen it if he'd known what he was looking for."

"And you did?" Victoria asked.

"Well, I knew when they were together and I saw the change when they weren't. And I saw his reaction when the news about the baby came out." Dave stated. He was watching Victoria's reaction closely. "Lita didn't know I knew."

Victoria nodded, glad that her friend hadn't trusted a complete stranger over her and glad that Batista had realised enough to mention it. "You should go," she said.

"Yeah." He stood to leave, but approached Lita. "If you need anything, Hunter and I are staying in room 307 and Hunter's cell is still on the same number you have."

"Thank you," Lita replied, surprising the man with a hug.

Dave nodded and moved to the door, checking the hallway before exiting. The two women stood in silence for a moment before Victoria moved to the phone.

"I should call Chris and the others, let them know you're back and you're okay."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Her friend nodded. "I can understand why you didn't…I just wish you had. I don't understand, Li. I guess I just always assumed you and Jeff would eventually realise you were meant to be together."

Lita smiled. "So did I, but…you don't know Hunter." She laughed humourlessly. "I guess I don't either, but I thought I did, at least a little. He made me feel safe and wanted and I'd never fallen for anyone so fast. I…I'm sorry, I can't talk just now. I just..."

"I know. Just…promise you'll talk to me when you're ready. Tell me all about it?"

Lita nodded. "I promise."

xxxxx

**End of Part Four **

xxxxx

Well, it's been a while, but I hope this is up to standards! Shawn may appear in the next chapter and I think Jeff will make an appearance at some point, but other than that, most of the characters are already in play. Batista will get a lot of time in this fic, because I love him! ;)

Don't forget to click the author's friend, AKA the review button! ;p


	6. Part Five

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer**: The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian.

**Spoilers:** Up to and including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback:** please, it makes me smile :)

**Notes:** Sorry, again, for the delay. Hope you enjoy.

xxxxx

**Part Five**

xxxxx

Dave grimaced as the lamp hit the door. Luckily he had moved the moment he shut it behind him, but that didn't make the fact that it had been aimed at him any less true.

"You're an ass," he said simply, before walking towards the bed. Hunter had obviously brought his stuff back to the hotel and he took a moment to rummage through it, looking for a clean t-shirt. He had noticed blood on it and had the feeling it belonged to either Ric or Randy and figured it would be best to change before the inevitable meeting.

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'you're an ass'."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

He turned and took a step towards his friend. "Who do I think I am? I think I'm the guy who's watched you beating yourself up about the fact that you let the woman of your dreams slip through your fingers. I think I'm the guy who watched the grin form on your face when you found out you were going to be a dad and then the scowl when you realised you were too much of an ass to go grovelling to her. I think I'm the guy who just helped you on your way to changing all of the above and I think you should shut the hell up before I forget we're friends."

Hunter continued to glare at him, but the man's silence told him all he wanted to know. Dave rolled his eyes and turned back to his bag, pulling out the t-shirt and changing.

"How is she?"

"Upset."

"But she's okay?"

Dave turned to face him and nodded slowly. "She's okay."

"They're going to pay."

"I know."

Hunter nodded. "This is your last chance to change sides. After this you don't betray me unless you expect a world of pain."

Dave smirked. "I intend to inflict a world of pain myself. And it won't be on you, so count yourself lucky that I like Lita." When Hunter's gaze narrowed, he laughed. "Don't get so defensive; I don't like her that much. Besides, I get the feeling she's hoping you'll get a clue and start grovelling. You screwed up, but you can fix it."

"I intend to."

"Good."

There was a knock at the door and they exchanged glances. Hunter nodded and moved towards the door as Dave hid his t-shirt in the bottom of his bag. By the time he had turned around, Randy and Ric were pacing the floor.

"What happened to you?" Hunter asked and Dave had to hide his smile as he saw what a mess his 'friends' were in. He hadn't thought he'd done that much damage, but they were both bruised and bloody.

"Someone jumped us from behind," Randy said angrily.

"Who?" Dave asked, hoping he sounded more angry than amused.

"We don't know." Ric looked at him suspiciously for a moment. "Where were you; I thought you had our backs."

"No, he had mine," Hunter said, drawing the attention to him. "Two and two, remember. Someone always watching the other's back."

Ric nodded slowly. "Right."

"Go get cleaned up," Hunter said decisively. "We'll start looking into it tomorrow. Don't worry, we'll find out who did it and make sure you get them in the ring."

"Or out of it," Randy amended.

"You've already done that and you didn't come out on top. If we do it sneakily, the job will get done."

Dave smirked, but he was more amused by Hunter's double edged words. Ric and Randy were going to pay for touching Lita and Dave was glad he'd bought himself a ringside seat.

xxxxx

The room was silent and Lita squirmed in her seat. She was surrounded by her friends, but she'd never felt quite so alone in all her life. She'd lied to them and she wasn't so sure they'd ever forgive her. She'd spoken to Jeff the moment Victoria had got off the phone with Chris. Whilst he'd been shocked about the events of the evening, he'd already known Hunter was the father. The night that they had called everything off, Lita had talked Jeff into going out and getting drunk. Jeff informed her that she had told him everything, only to forget the next morning. He'd never asked her about it, because she'd told him how much it hurt and, for him, it was enough to know that she had turned to him when she needed help. She'd never understand how someone like Jeff would ever love being her friend so much, but she was grateful.

Not long after she had got off the phone, the others had arrived. They had been sitting in silence ever since and Lita was beginning to get annoyed.

"I'm not dying," she said abruptly, surprising laughs out of Edge and Victoria. "And I'm not going to apologise. I am sorry I lied to you, but I'm not sorry that I'm pregnant." The last statement surprised her. She hadn't realised it was true until she had said it. But it was true. She loved her baby and, despite the fact that he had broken her heart, she could tell Hunter did, too. She had seen it in his eyes.

"Oh, honey, we know you're not sorry about the baby," Lilian said, moving to sit beside her on the window seat. "We're just a little surprised about who the father is."

"Can you really blame us?" Lita looked at Chris, not having heard any accusation in his voice, but unsure as to how he had intended the question. "Look, Li," he said, standing and walking towards her. "We all love you and we trust you. I understand why you didn't tell us…but why him?"

She smiled sadly, holding back her tears. "Because he wanted me. He was there one night and right when I thought he was going to hurt me even more, he helped me. There was something in his eyes that said he hated the way I was looking at him as if he was going to hurt me. He wanted me…and I think he even loved me a little."

Chris' jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything. She suspected he wanted to shout at her, but he didn't. Lilian squeezed her hand and looked up at her boyfriend with a smile and Lita could almost hear her pleading with him to support her through this.

"Okay," he said finally. "Just…don't expect me to play nice with him."

Lita laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"What about the next time he hurts you?"

Lita looked over at Matt and shook her head. "I don't think he will."

Matt nodded slowly. "Okay, but I don't like it."

"Then be on your guard…just…please let him handle Flair and Orton. All of you."

Edge, Chris, and Matt all exchanged wary glances, but it was Edge who finally spoke for them all. "Okay, Li, we won't do anything. For the moment. But the minute it looks like he's turning on you-"

"He won't," Lita said harshly, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Okay, if. If he looks like he's turning on you, we reserve the right to kill him."

Victoria laughed and Lita rolled her eyes. "Okay, but I don't think you'll need to."

Chris nodded. "I hope not, but things might get worse before they get better."

As if to confirm the fact, there was a knock at the door. Lita cast wary glances at the others, but moved to answer it. When Chris made to move in front of her, she shook her head and made her way to the door, almost praying it would be Hunter. She pulled back the door and her eyes widened.

"Ivory?" she said softly and the woman smiled.

"Hey there little sister."

xxxxx

**End of Chapter Five**

xxxxx

I wasn't sure how else to get Ivory into this and, aside from the fact that I really wanted her there, I liked the idea of them being sisters! Also, I know I promised you Shawn in this chapter, but it didn't fit. Hopefully I'll be able to get him into the next one.


	7. Part Six

**Note: **Finally, an update! ;) **_This is complete now_**. There are fifteen chapters and I intend to update them all over the next week or two, so I hope you enjoy.

**In My Dreams  
****By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian, Stacy/Kane.

**Spoilers: **Up to and (over the next part or so) including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **wwekyizificathotmaildotcom

**Notes: **Okay, so it's been a while! Before you think I've got your hopes up for no reason, I have finished this fic. I'm trying to get some of my fics finished as well, but am having a hard time getting back into the older ones. Cry Me A River is being a particular pain in the arse. However, I am determined and this fic was screaming at me to update, so I did.

Hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

**Part Six**

xxxxx

Hunter was pacing the room. Again. And it was really getting on his nerves. Growling at his friend, Dave stood up and threw the towel he was holding at the man.

"Will you get a grip," he ground out. "If you don't watch it, Ric and Randy are going to know something's up."

"I'm going to kill the little fucker, you know that, right?"

Dave nodded. "And Flair is mine. But this will only work if you stop acting like you want to pound Randy's face into the ground."

Hunter sighed and ran a hand though his hair. "I know. I just…I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to do in the meantime."

"You could try sucking up to Lita. I thought that was pretty much a given."

"Yeah," Hunter said sarcastically, "I'll just nip out to the nearest Hallmark and buy the first card I can find that says, 'I'm sorry I messed up, got you pregnant, left you because I was falling in love with you, acted like a total jerk, and then ignored you for weeks while people called you a slut'. I wanted to kill everyone who said so much as one word to her and I just stood by and watched. How the hell am I meant to make up for that?"

"Well, the card might be overkill, but I'm sure there's a sentiment in there somewhere she might want to hear," Dave said, a large smile of his face. Something told him that Hunter hadn't even been aware of what he was saying and Dave only hoped he was there when the man figured it out, because Hunter was going to be floored by the realisation and he appreciated a good laugh.

Hunter growled and kicked the chair beside him, sending it flying into the lockers. The sound rang through the air for a while before Dave raised his eyebrows and asked, "That help?"

"Strangely satisfying," Hunter said, letting out a long breath. "I don't know how to make up for this. I don't know if I can."

Dave opened his mouth to reply, but a voice surprised them from the doorway, "The fact that you want to is a start."

Hunter's eyes widened as he turned around. "What the hell do you know?" he asked dangerously, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Enough."

"If you tell a soul-"

The man shook his head. "I'm not saying a thing. I just wanted you to know that if you hurt her again, you will have one more person ready to kill you."

"Maybe I missed something," Dave said slowly, regarding the man warily, "but how do you know anything?"

Hunter resisted the urge to groan as realisation dawned. "Shit. Ivory."

"Ivory," the man repeated, smirking.

"Wait a minute, she's here?" Hunter asked, barely able to stop himself from looking around, almost as if the woman might pop out from the lockers behind him. And, given that he had just mauled them with a chair, he was hoping that really wasn't the case, but it really wouldn't surprise him. Nothing ever did when it came to the feisty brunette.

"She's with Lita just now, but I think it's safe to say she'll be knocking on your door soon enough. To be honest, you're lucky she wasn't here weeks ago. You can thank me later."

"I am really lost." Dave shook his head and looked between the two. "Do I want to be found?"

"Only if you don't piss off my girlfriend."

"That would be Ivory?"

The man nodded. "She's renowned for her temper."

"I have heard," Batista said.

"She's also very protective."

"What's Lita to her?"

"Lita's her little sister," Hunter said softly.

"Yeah, and like I said, she's very protective. You might wanna remember that, ol' buddy," the man said, turning to leave the locker room.

"Been a long time since we've been buddies, Shawn," Hunter said and the Heartbreak Kid turned to look at him. "A long time."

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, it has been. But from what I just heard, you might be able to redeem yourself yet."

"Redemption never was my strong point."

"I hope, for Lita's sake, that that's about to change."

Shawn gave him one last look before leaving and Hunter sighed and sat down. "So do I," he muttered.

There was silence for a moment before Dave spoke. "Ivory is Lita's sister?"

"Yeah," Hunter said, looking at his friend and Dave laughed loudly.

"Man, you couldn't pay me to swap places with you. She's gotta be pissed; you knocked up her baby sister." Hunter glared and Dave wisely stopped laughing, but he couldn't rid himself of the large smile on his face. "So how come no one seems to know about them?"

"They never wanted it used in storyline and, like Shawn said, Ivory's real protective, so they never mentioned it to management. They're only half sisters; Ivory uses her mom's maiden name. I only found out because I accidentally answered Lita's cell once."

Dave snorted. "I'll bet that went down well."

"I don't think my manhood has ever been in as much trouble before." Hunter smirked at the recollection, before sobering. "I want her back Dave."

"I assume you're not still talking about Ivory, because I think Michaels might have an issue with that."

"So would Ivory. We don't exactly get along and, no, wiseass, I wasn't talking about Ivory."

"Why?" Dave asked.

"What do you mean why?"

"Why do you want her back? Because she's her, or because she's pregnant and you want nothing more than to be a father?" Hunter looked pissed, so Dave held up his hands, continuing before his friend could interrupt. "Hey, it's a fair question and it's one you _know_ Lita is gonna be asking you. I'm just making sure your doing this for the right reasons."

"Lita already assured me she wouldn't shut me out of the kid's life. If I just wanted to be a father, I could have that without being with her." He looked Dave in the eyes. "I wanted her back before that."

"I know you did," Batista said, "I'm just making sure you got that straight in your own head, because you know damn well that Lita will be thinking that's why you want her."

"Then I'll just have to convince her, won't I?"

Dave nodded and stood up. "We better go find Dumb and Dumber before they come looking for us."

Hunter nodded. "And if I'm lucky, I'll manage not to kill the little punk before the show starts."

With one last sigh of frustration, Hunter followed Dave from the locker room, not looking back…which is why he didn't see the person who slowly emerged from the bathroom in the back of the room, eyeing their retreating forms with a calculating look on their face.

xxxxx

**End of Part Six**

xxxxx

Go on, hit the little review button and leave me feedback; you know you want to! ;p


	8. Part Seven

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian.

**Spoilers: **Up to and (over the next part or so) including RAW 12/07/04.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **wwekyizificathotmaildotcom

**Notes: **Okay, so it's been a while! Before you think I've got your hopes up for no reason, I have finished this fic. I'm trying to get some of my fics finished as well, but am having a hard time getting back into the older ones. Cry Me A River is being a particular pain in the arse. However, I am determined and this fic was screaming at me to update, so I did.

Hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

**Part Seven**

xxxxx

"I'm going to kill him. Very slowly and _very_ painfully."

Lita rolled her eyes. "Ive, you said that already and I've told you it's not necessary."

Her sister turned to look at her. "He knocked you up, denied the baby was his, and then decided to play knight in shining armour well past the point where it actually counted _for_ him. I told him I would kill him if he hurt you and I meant it."

"He didn't deny the baby was his, he just didn't admit to it, Ivory. And, no, you can't kill him."

Ivory stared at the redhead for a while, before letting out a huff of frustration. "Can't I at least maim him a little?"

Lita laughed. "No, you can't! Well, not yet, anyway."

"Why, what does he have planned as an encore? Because if it's worse than this, I really will kill the little-"

"There's my wonderful girlfriend. Playing nice, I see." Shawn entered the room, walking up to the brunette and wrapping his arms around her from behind. He kissed her on the cheek and smiled at Lita. "You think this is bad, you shoulda seen her on the flight over."

Lita rolled her eyes. "I can imagine."

"I think the guy in front of us was ready to wet himself at the colourful descriptions she gave of all the lovely things she wants to do to your ex." Shawn cleared his throat. "And, speaking of," he said slowly, not quite sure when he would be overstepping his bounds. He and Ivory had been dating for a long time and he had known the two were sisters for about a year now, but despite liking Lita and getting on well with her, Shawn was always cautious about what he said to the redhead. Especially after Ivory had told him her sister was seeing Hunter. He knew his old friend well enough to know that things were never what they seemed with the man, but, until he had seen Hunter, he hadn't been sure if things were in favour of the redhead or not. Now, however, he was sure.

"You've seen him." It wasn't a question.

Shawn nodded his head. "Yes, Lita, I've seen him."

"Oh."

Shawn smiled. "For what it's worth, I wouldn't want to be in Randy Orton's shoes tonight."

"I've never seen him so angry," the redhead said, looking down at her hands.

"Orton threatened you and he hates himself for not being there to protect you," Shawn said softly.

"The baby," Lita clarified. "He hates himself for not being there to protect the baby."

"Well, he's got a nerve pretending to care now," Ivory muttered, but shut her mouth at Shawn's look.

"If there is anyone who can honestly say they've seen everything Hunter is, it's me and I'm telling you, Lita, whether you – or you," he added, looking at his girlfriend, "want to see it, he wants to protect _you_ as well as that baby. Hunter doesn't have a lot in his life. Since he and Chyna broke up a few years back he hasn't had anyone he cared about. Then we fell out and the only friend he's had to turn to is Batista, and can I just say, what a terrifying man that is, right there."

Lita chuckled. "He's actually a sweetheart."

Shawn raised his eyebrows. "Whatever you say, Red. Back to my point-"

"You have one?" Ivory asked, still a little huffy that Shawn was so effectively holding her in place and she was, therefore, unable to ignore her little sister's wishes and maim Triple H.

"My _point_ is, that I've never seen him look like that when he talked about anyone before. Not even Chyna."

Lita shook her head. "He doesn't care about me. I-I thought he did then, but…he doesn't."

"I don't think you get a choice in the matter, Red," Shawn said, leaving Ivory and moving to sit by her sister. "I'm not defending what he did, but he seems pretty determined to show you how he feels. I wouldn't rule anything out."

There was silence as Lita tried to digest what Shawn was saying, but it was rudely broken by the two blonds charging into the room.

"Never fear, the amusement for the evening has arrived!"

Edge frowned. "I resent being called an amusement, jerky, try 'entertainment'."

Chris rolled his eyes and threw his bag into the corner of the room. He turned back to Lita and grinned. "I think I'm in luck; look Edge, I ordered a locker room and they threw in a pretty redhead for free."

"And if you try to keep her, Christopher," Lilian said as she entered the room behind them, "you'll be sleeping on the couch." The others laughed as Chris, in response, lunged at his girlfriend, dipped her into a low embrace and kissed her.

"What's this, a free peep show?" Matt asked as he stopped in the doorway.

"Chris tried to steal the pretty redhead," Edge said, winking at Lita. "Looks like the family's still here," he added, glancing at Ivory. The woman rolled her eyes and moved to sit between her sister and boyfriend. It had been quite a surprise for them all; finding out that the two Divas were sisters - although Chris known for quite some time - and Edge was refusing to let the matter drop.

"Watch out, man," Matt said, opening his locker for the evening. "She's rabid."

"Which one?"

"I think it runs in the family." The two men laughed and, a moment later, were chased into the bathroom by four shoes and a rather inventive projectile Ivory had in the form of bracelet.

xxxxx

At first, he hadn't been sure what to do with the information he had just been given. It all seemed so utterly surreal that he had had to question the source. Of course, the source was highly unreliable, but he had been unwilling to rule it out completely. Pondering the matter had led to many small, almost inconsequential, comings and goings that couldn't be explained and, now that he thought about it, explaining them hadn't even been attempted. He wasn't Triple H's keeper and he had never professed to be, but what could possibly have been so important that one would keep it from one's best friends?

Well. _That_ could.

He'd never have thought of them together, she wasn't exactly his type and he was a far cry from the type of person he could picture her with. But then he'd had a hard time trying to imagine what Hunter and Chyna had seen in each other, so maybe it wasn't quite so unbelievable after all. No, what was unbelievable was that he might now be choosing the little tramp over his friends. As for Dave, well, that man had always been a wildcard, at least now Ric knew where he stood and he could plan accordingly.

"Hey kid," he shouted, calling Randy over to him. "We need to have a little chat before the match tonight." Randy frowned. "I think I know who jumped us the other night…and I think I have some other _valuable_ information about it as well. Come on."

Randy nodded and followed him from the room, slipping away before Triple H and Batista could find them. They would plan for tonight and they would come out on top and Triple H? Well, The Game would find out _exactly _what happened when you screwed with Ric Flair.

He wasn't called the dirtiest player in the game for nothing.

xxxxx

**End of Part Seven**

xxxxx


	9. Part Eight

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian, slight mention of Stacy/Kane.

**Spoilers: **Up to and including RAW 12/07/04, anything after that is made up because I can't remember what the heck was happening at the time! Although, just to refresh was I know was happening; the Kane/Lita storyline was live and swinging and Evolution has just turned on Eugene.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **People are asking why it's taken so long to update and I can only apologise. What started with health problems turned into time problems and then I just never got back into the genre. I don't have Sky (Cable TV) and haven't been able to watch wrestling for a while, so it's hard to get into the way or writing. However, I'm back reading Karen U's fics and that got me wanting to update this. I'm hoping to get Cry Me A River done soon as well. So, all I can really say is sorry for the unacceptable delay!

xxxxx

**Part Eight**

xxxxx

"What the _hell_ was that?" Hunter growled under his breath. Their match hadn't been on long and, so far, things weren't going according to plan; he hadn't even had the chance to 'accidentally' lay a finger on Orton yet, let alone begin the new storyline that his 'friends' were as yet unaware of.

"You were in the way," Ric replied, his voice monotone.

Pushing himself back onto his feet, Hunter turned towards his opponent for the night, knowing that the men Evolution were facing would quite happily kick the crap out of him for real if they got the chance. Whilst he was sure that he (or rather Lita) had successfully talked Edge and Jericho into leaving Randy to him – for the time being, at least – the throbbing pain in his left shoulder was enough to convince him that they weren't above dealing out a little pain to the man that had hurt their friend. Not that he was complaining; he deserved it.

He climbed back out of the ring and studied Ric closely, as the man missed a clothesline on Jericho – who had just stepped into the ring. There was something not quite right. The match wasn't going according to plan and he could tell that both Edge and Jericho were also wondering what was happening. In fact, the only person who didn't seem to be worried by the way Ric was acting was Randy Orton.

There was something wrong and Hunter didn't like to think what that might be. He glanced at Dave, who was frowning at them from the sidelines. Catching the man's eye, Hunter inclined his head slightly towards Orton who was almost boring eyes into the back of his head. Something was definitely up and he was beginning to wonder if he didn't already know what was going on. The cat was out of the bag.

He wasn't sure how it had happened, but he knew. Ric and Randy knew about his relationship with Lita, they knew the baby was his, and they likely knew that Hunter intended retribution for their recent actions towards the redhead. Given that they were still breathing, they had probably assumed he hadn't been the one to jump them the other night, which meant that they had to know that Dave was involved as well.

He glanced at Dave, trying to convey his suspicions and Evolution's animal gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Things were about to get ugly. He turned his attention back to the match and Edge caught his eye briefly from the opposite corner; the Canadian must have realised that something was up. Things were definitely not going according to plan.

Growling softly under his breath, Hunter reached out a hand towards Flair in an attempt to make it appear as if nothing was wrong, simultaneously muttering the most succinct word he could think of given the situation.

"Shit."

xxxxx

"I'm really not seeing a whole lot of Orton getting beat up. I seem to remember being promised that I would see Orton get the crap kicked out of him and so far all I've seen is a brief glimpse of Helmsley's ass. Remind me to beat up Edge for putting me through that."

Shawn smirked at his girlfriend and pulled her closer, turning his attention back to the monitor that was airing the current match. "I don't think Edge intended to pull Hunter's trunks, sweetie. It happens to the best of us."

Ivory turned to face him, her scepticism blatantly obvious. "Shawn, honey, if you're referring to yourself then I would like to remind you that you intended to bare your ass to the paying audience every single time."

"Hey, not _every_ time, I have a little modesty you know." There weren't many people in the room, but the volume of laughter that suddenly erupted still filled it. Shawn frowned. "I think I'm insulted. I'm a changed man."

"Yeah," Matt said with a grin, "but only because Ive doesn't want to share you with a million screaming teenagers and she's scary when she doesn't get her way."

"Why does everyone insist that I'm scary?" the brunette demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at the remaining men in the room. Matt quickly looked back at the monitor; Jeff (who had arrived a few moments earlier, having decided to surprise Lita after her call the other evening) smirked, but said nothing; Victoria laughed; and Shawn cleared his throat, not trusting he'd get out of the encounter in tact should he reply.

Luckily they were all saved by Kane. The Big Red Machine entered the room and eyed the occupants suspiciously, not liking the way that four out of the five of them were suddenly so delighted to see him.

"Eh, whatever happened, I didn't do it."

Victoria laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry, it's just Ivory PMS-ing."

"I'm not PMS-ing and I am _not_ scary," Ivory said vehemently. "Kane, I'm not scary, right?"

Kane raised an eyebrow, suddenly wishing he was wearing his mask. He got the distinct impression that he didn't want the woman to know the answer to that question. "You are when you want to be," he finally said, hoping that answer was better than the one he had wanted to reply with. He had the feeling that 'oh, yes, you are' wouldn't have gone down so well.

"I'm looking for Lita," he continued, hoping to quickly end the current line of questioning. "She left this in my locker room after my match," he said, holding out the teddy bear the redhead had brought out to ringside with her. Management had decided that she needed to look as though she was more pleased with her pregnancy and also thought something like that would make her appear more of a victim when Kane 'bullied' her.

However, that was suddenly the last thing on Kane's mind. The tension that instantly took over the room made him wonder exactly what he was missing out on.

"We thought she was with you," Matt said as he and his brother jumped to their feet.

"She wasn't here when I arrived," Jeff said worriedly, "but we figured you guys just got chatting."

"Surely you noticed she wasn't with me when I arrived," Kane said, frowning. "We must have just missed each other."

"She might be with Stacy," Shawn said, hoping to calm Ivory; the terrified look on his girlfriend's face was making him uneasy.

Kane shook his head. "No, she left already. We've got a flight at ten thirty; her brother gets married tomorrow and we promised we wouldn't be late. She's the bridesmaid," he reminded them. "I'm sure she's fine. She'll just have got talking to someone."

"Who?" Jeff asked and Kane saw his point. Most of Lita's friends were in the room, Stacy had left, and the others were currently in the ring with half of Evolution.

"She'll be fine," he reiterated. "It's not like she's in danger."

Victoria shook her head as Ivory burst up from the sofa and pushed past him. "You don't understand," she said, moving to follow the others from the room. "Things are a little more complicated than anyone knows."

Kane frowned at Victoria's cryptic comment, watching as the group began searching the halls and locker rooms for their friend. He wasn't sure what was going on, but the tone in Victoria's voice had him a little unsettled. Knowing that his girlfriend would not take kindly to his being late to the airport, he turned and headed back towards his locker room. A moment later, however, he stopped and cursed under his breath, unable to clear his mind of the look of horror on Ivory's face.

"Stacy's going to kill me," he muttered and turned to follow after the group, the small teddy bear still in his hands.

xxxxx

**End of Part Eight**

xxxxx


	10. Part Nine

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian, Stacy/Kane.

**Spoilers: **Up to and including RAW 12/07/04, anything after that is made up because I can't remember what the heck was happening at the time! Although, just to refresh was I know was happening; the Kane/Lita storyline was live and swinging and Evolution has just turned on Eugene.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **I promise I haven't been withholding! I just haven't been able to get online, is all! Enjoy.

xxxxx

**Part Nine**

xxxxx

Jericho eyed his opponent warily before lunging at the man, wrapping his hands roughly around Triple H's head, making sure to keep his mouth out of sight. "What the hell is going on," he growled. "Orton and Flair were meant to be dust by now."

Prior to the match, they had gone to the writers, Triple H using his friendship with Stephanie to get him past the irritated secretary. Whatever had gone on in that room had clearly taken the Billion Dollar Princess by surprise, but she had agreed to her friend's idea, simply because she knew it would make good television. However, the plan had yet to materialise, as was obvious by the fact that Chris was still in the ring.

"They know," was all the Cerebral Assassin had time to say before they broke the hold.

Trying his best to keep the surprise off his face, Chris warily eyed Ric Flair. The man was glaring into the ring, but the fact that the glare seemed to be directed to Triple H rather than him was all Chris needed to see the truth. A quick glance at Randy Orton and Chris knew that the plan was screwed.

Taking his anger directly where he had wanted to aim it in the first place, he threw Triple H against the ring post next to Edge and began kicking the man, making more contact than was strictly necessary for the sake of the viewing audience. Hunter glared at him and he rammed his elbow into the man's chest, only wishing he could apply more force. However, he didn't want to deal with a pissed off redhead when the match was over. For whatever reason, his best friend was in love with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and, whilst he hated the fact, he knew it was true and he would never intentionally do anything to hurt Lita.

Reaching out to pull Triple H back into the centre of the ring, Chris angled his head again, grasping hold of the man in a way that they could exchange a few words.

"Was that necessary," Hunter wheezed and Chris smirked.

"What now?"

"Plan B."

Without getting the opportunity to so much as think of asking what Plan B might be, he found himself flat on his back, the wind completely knocked out of him. He really hated Triple H.

Rolling onto his side, he frowned. Randy Orton was making his way towards Lilian and, whilst he knew the man was unlikely to do anything in front of a live audience (management would have his hide), the idea of Orton being anywhere near his girlfriend wasn't a comforting one. In fact, it made him wish – once again – that he hadn't promised Lita he'd let Hunter deal with the little shit.

Luckily Lilian had the sense to move before the man reached her and Chris watched as Orton folded up the chair the ring announcer had been using, before making his way back to the side of the ring. Theoretically, Orton wasn't doing anything out with what they had originally planned for the match, but something in the way Randy had been looking at Triple H made Chris think that things were about to get ugly.

Five minutes later, all hell broke loose and Chris couldn't help thinking that this would have been a rare moment when he wished he had actually been wrong about something.

xxxxx

"Where the hell is she?"

"I don't know, Ive," Victoria replied, placing her hand on the woman's arm and squeezing it momentarily. "But we'll find her."

"I swear, if they've harmed one hair on her head I will kill them."

"I think there might be a line," Victoria muttered, watching as Jeff Hardy kicked a steel chair half way across the room in frustration.

"She has to still be in the arena," Matt said, turning to address them all. "We already checked with security, Stacy is the only one that's already left tonight and the only reason she was allowed was because she wasn't actually meant to be here."

"Could they have sneaked her out?" Jeff asked softly and the Heartbreak Kid shook his head.

"Not a chance. Security has this place locked up tighter than a vault so the fans can't get in. Someone leaves, they know about it."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Then we've missed somewhere."

"And someone," Jeff said suddenly.

"What do you…?" Ivory moved towards the man, her eyes widening. "That little bitch."

"If she's in on this, chances are Orton and Flair know exactly what's going on," Jeff said angrily. "I know her better 'n anybody and she doesn' get into anything unless she's got the upper hand."

"I'll kill her," Victoria said, suddenly realising who they were talking about. Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed down the hallway, the others barely able to keep up with her.

"Would someone mind filling in those of us who don't have a clue?" Matt asked as he and Shawn exchanged a glance.

Jeff turned, jogging backwards for a moment and, from the look in his brother's eyes, Matt knew exactly what name he was about to hear.

"Trish."

xxxxx

**End of Part Nine**

xxxxx


	11. Part Ten

**In My Dreams**

**By Kyizi**

**Disclaimer: **The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Distribution:** Please ask.

**Pairings:** Lita/Hunter, Batista/Victoria, Shawn/Ivory, Jericho/Lilian, Stacy/Kane.

**Spoilers: **Up to and including RAW 12/07/04, anything after that is made up because I can't remember what the heck was happening at the time! Although, just to refresh was I know was happening; the Kane/Lita storyline was live and swinging and Evolution has just turned on Eugene.

**Feedback: **please, it makes me smile :)

**E-mail: **wwekyizific (at) hotmail (dot) com

**Notes: **For LatishaC, for continuing to reply and feedback each chapter. Thanks for sticking this out, despite my wonderful disappearing acts! I've lost my internet connection, so am having issues updating regularly. Sorry! The whole fic is up at my yahoo group, but other than that, you'll have to be patient, sorry!

xxxxx

**Part Ten**

xxxxx

Edge hissed through his teeth, clutching hold of the gash above his right eye. Wiping the blood from his vision, he glanced around, hoping to get some clue as to what the hell was going on. He had known from fairly early on that something was up, but it wasn't until Triple H had caught his eye that he realised Lita was in possible danger. He didn't think he'd ever seen The Game look scared, but the look of sheer terror in the man's eyes when Orton had hissed Lita's name into his ear had made Edge realise that maybe Helmsley did have feelings after all.

Pandemonium had broken in the ring the moment that fear had turned to anger and Edge wasn't sure exactly what had happened to cause his painful introduction with the corner of the steel steps, but he now knew them too well for his liking. The chair had been the equaliser and it hadn't mattered that Triple H had seen it coming, there was very little one could do in that brief moment between realisation and steel meeting forehead. And where Flair had pulled those brass knuckles from he didn't want to think about, all he knew was that, had Batista not acted so quickly, things would definitely be going against them.

Pulling himself gingerly to his feet, he glanced inside the ring. Jericho looked to be out for the count, although he wasn't surprised given that Chris had been the first target for the brass knuckles, and he knew that it must be taking all of Lilian's self restraint to remain where she was. He was pretty sure that Flair and Orton had assumed he and Chris wouldn't interfere with their plans. That they'd be pissed at Triple H for everything he'd done to Lita was a given, but they obviously hadn't counted on their friendship with Lita meaning they'd help out the father of her child. They clearly misjudged her feelings for the man; being mad at him didn't make her love him any less. Not to mention the fact that they were pissed at also being targets.

The crowd, for their part, seemed to be behind the sudden turnaround from Batista and The Game. There had been confusion for a moment, but he and Jericho were face characters and, when they had become targets, he knew that the viewing audience weren't likely to argue with them getting help, even if that help did come from an unlikely source.

Pulling himself into the ring, he caught Batista's eye. The man inclined his head slightly in Jericho's direction and Edge gave a brief nod before moving to check on his friend. Flair and Orton weren't going anywhere and Jericho needed help. Of course, given that Batista was literally standing on the man, Edge had to wonder if Flair would ever be going anywhere ever again – except perhaps the morgue.

"Steph's gonna be pissed," he muttered absently. Somehow, he doubted the young McMahon would be too pleased with the sudden turnaround in the plan they had laid out to her. He was injured, Jericho was injured, Triple H was bleeding all over the ring, and Flair and Orton had been ever so slightly broken, a state of affairs that looked set to continue.

Reaching Chris, Edge quickly ascertained that his friend wasn't out, just not quite so inclined to move. He checked Chris' ribs before frowning, causing a sharp pain to shoot through the cut on his forehead.

Grimacing at the pain, he turned his attention to Chris. "You okay."

"Just peachy," Y2J said, rolling his eyes.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a jackass."

"Every day. I think I broke a rib."

Edge prodded the man's chest, causing him to curse. "Nah, just bruised."

"I hate you," Chris growled, clutching his chest and rolling onto his side. Spotting Orton with a chair closed around his neck, he frowned. "Do we really want to be doing this live?"

Edge sighed. "I don't think Triple H is going to give us much of a choice. Come on," he said, turning back to help Chris from the ring, making sure no one could see or hear what he was saying. "We should leave, wouldn't be in character for us to stick around."

They both made their way painfully up the ramp, shooting curious glances over their shoulders and attempting to keep in character. Edge found that it really wasn't that hard given that he really did want to know what the hell had Hunter looking as if he was about to kill Randy Orton on National Television. He wouldn't trade places with the self-proclaimed Legend Killer for anything.

"What the _hell_ is going on?"

On second thoughts, he grimaced as he turned to face Stephanie McMahon, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad trade after all.

xxxxx

"What do you know?"

The blonde was struggling, scratching her fingernails into the woman's arm, clawing at every piece of flesh she could reach, but nothing was working; she was still being pinned to the wall by her neck and breathing was beginning to become a serious issue.

"What do you know?"

"E-e-everything!"

Cursing, Victoria let Trish fall to the floor and kicked the blonde in the stomach before she had the chance to catch her breath. She turned to face the others, who had only just arrived and were already untying Lita from the chair she had been secured to.

Victoria thought her friend should be yelling, screaming, crying, anything but just sitting there. Lita looked completely…not there. She was staring at the wall, glassy eyed and didn't even seem to be aware that anyone had arrived. Ivory was stroking her hair, holding her tightly, but she just sat there.

A surge of anger coursed through her and she turned and grabbed Trish by the hair, stopping the woman's progress towards the door. She spun Trish around and held her firmly in place, forcing the woman to look her dead in the eye.

"You are a sick bitch, Trish Stratus. This is a job, we're here because we love this business, but it's not _real_. Do you think for one moment that Orton and Flair would have just let her go without doing some serious damage to her? Do you even care? Don't answer that, because I already know you don't. I've known you a long time, Trish, and you may have been able convince some people that you're not the bitch we both know you are, but I swear to God, if you _ever_ come near Lita again I will crush you like the insignificant little insect you are." Trish had the decency to look as if she believed everything Victoria was threatening, but it still didn't stop the urge the brunette had to wrap her hands around the woman's neck and squeeze. "Get out of my sight before I decide to start now."

"What the hell?"

Letting Trish go, Victoria turned around to see what had caught Matt's attention. He was watching the monitor, frowning as Triple H ran from the ring towards the back. However, it wasn't so much the Cerebral Assassin that had Victoria's attention; the look on Batista's face as he stood on the chair pinning Randy Orton's neck was enough to make her smile. She took a moment to study Evolution's scariest member and she wasn't going to deny that he was quite a nice specimen of study. As he kicked Randy once more before leaving the ring after Triple H, she couldn't help wishing he'd put his full weight on the chair and maybe done a little permanent damage. She knew it was a little sick, but, glancing at Lita, she decided that Orton deserved everything he got and if she got to watch, well, that was all the better.

xxxxx

**End of Part Ten**

xxxxx


	12. Part Eleven

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. Internet issues. Meep! Enjoy!

xxxxx

**Part Eleven**

xxxxx

"Where is she?"

The frantic voice caused Jericho to turn a little too sharply. He hissed as his ribs screamed in protest. "What the hell are you talking about and what the hell was that out there?"

"They've got Lita," The Game ground out, barely stopping to wipe the blood from his head as a stagehand gave him a towel, and Jericho's eyes widened. "Trish Stratus heard Dave and I talking earlier. She told Ric and now they've got Lita."

Triple H was already heading in the direction of the locker rooms and Edge and Chris quickly followed, leaving a confused Stephanie McMahon behind them.

"You got all that out of Orton in the ring?" Edge asked, as he quickened his step.

"I can be persuasive," Triple H said and the deadly tone in his voice was answer enough as to how he had got Orton to talk. Chris glanced at his friend and he knew they were both thinking the same thing; it was hard to believe that Lita could have fallen for the man. Hunter's reaction, however, gave them something else to think about, but Chris decided he'd really rather not. The last thing he wanted was to see The Game as a decent human being with feelings. It was just…against the laws of nature or something.

"Look," he said finally, "the others have got Lita with them. There's no way they'd ever…" he trailed off as he spotted something ahead of them. Before he had time to think, Triple H had already approached the Diva and, ignoring the woman's tantrum, addressed her.

"Where the hell is Lita?"

His voice quickly incited fear and Trish pointed to her left. "My locker room."

"You'd better pray I find her unharmed."

Trish scampered away from them, letting out a yelp when she walked into someone. Chris couldn't help but smirk as Batista softly said, "Boo" and sent the woman running away. He hadn't even realised the man was behind them.

Chris turned back around only to see Triple H disappearing into a locker room half way down the corridor. He sighed and turned to face Batista.

"He actually cares about her, doesn't he?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Yeah, he does. You planning on making something of it?"

Chris sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "He's no good for her."

"Don't you think that she should get to decide that?" Batista asked and it was Edge that answered.

"I don't think we have much of a choice."

xxxxx

Broken. It was the only word that he could think of to describe what he saw when he looked at her. He had barely taken two steps into the room when he spotted her; it was something he had got used to over the months, this ability to suddenly find her in a room even when he didn't know she was going to be there. He knew the others in the room were watching him, but he didn't even acknowledge their presence. Stepping towards Lita, he was focussed only on her.

"Lita," he said softly, but there was no reaction. She didn't even blink.

Knowing he didn't have much chance of getting too close to her without Ivory moving, he glanced up at the brunette, silently pleading with her to move out of the way. She was reluctant, but slowly let her grip on her sister drop and stepped back into Shawn's embrace.

"Lita," he said again, swiping a trickle of blood off his forehead and finally closing the gap between them. When she still didn't acknowledge him, he reached out a hand to turn her face towards him. The moment he made contact, she snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and thrashed out, cracking him soundly on the chin. She was yelling and scratching, but he pulled her into his embrace, trapping her arms at her side.

In his peripheral vision he saw Shawn holding Ivory back and he knew that the Hardy brothers, Victoria, and Kane were behind him somewhere, but he was more concerned about Lita than what they were doing. He continued to hold her steady, talking in slow murmurs until she stopped fighting him and, instead, began to clutch at him. He turned her around in his embrace and she clawed at his neck, burying her face in his shoulder blades.

At first he thought she was crying, but there were no tears, only dry, wracking sobs that caused her to shake. He held her tighter and said he was sorry over and over again, promised her that he wouldn't leave her, promised her that Ric and Randy would never get near her again, promised her that he would protect her and their baby…and he intended to keep those promises.

xxxxx

She yawned and stretched, jerking slightly when her arm came into contact with solid mass; breathing, solid mass. She frowned and lifted her head from its current position against said solid mass' shoulder and glanced around the darkened room. Her eyes made out the harsh red light from the alarm clock on the bedside cabinet, which told her it was about three fifteen in the morning.

Something made her think she should be afraid, but she felt safer than she had in a long time and she knew why. She recognised the body next to hers, practically had it memorised and categorised. She just had no idea why she was currently lying next to it. Slowly she went back over the night in her head and, just as she was beginning to remember everything, just when she felt herself beginning to hyperventilate, he reached out for her. He pulled her into his embrace and murmured things into her ear, told her everything was going to be all right and, at that moment, she almost believed him. Almost, because then he murmured three words that she just knew couldn't be true.

And that was when Lita began to cry.

xxxxx

**End of Part Eleven**

xxxxx


	13. Part Twelve

xxxxx 

**Part Twelve**

xxxxx

"I should never have let him take her."

Shawn sighed and reached out to turn on the lamp beside his bed. Turning back to see Ivory grumbling and rubbing her eyes to ward off the light, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"You really want to talk about this now?" When she glared at him, he resigned himself to not getting any sleep in the near future and settled himself more comfortably. "Okay, we'll talk."

"I don't want to talk. I want to go to her room, get my sister, and kick the crap out of him for getting her into this situation." Ivory let out a growl of frustration and dropped her head back onto the pillows. "I shouldn't have let him take her."

"I have no idea how you could have stopped him; she wasn't letting go."

"I just don't get it," she said, turning to face him again. "I know my sister. I know she's wacky, impetuous, slightly off the wall, and more than most guys can handle, but I don't know why she'd choose him. Why him, Shawn?"

"Well," the Heartbreak Kid said, a small smile coming to his lips, "why did you choose me?"

Ivory grinned tiredly. "You have a really nice ass."

Shawn laughed and pulled her closer, letting her head rest on his chest. "Look, I know Hunter's not the nicest guy-" Ivory snorted and he waited a moment until he was sure she was listening. "-and I know that you think everything about him should repulse her, but there's more to him than that. He's had his heart broken in the past, Ive, broken like you wouldn't believe, and the fact that he's let himself fall for her tells me all I need to know. He wouldn't hurt her and we have got to trust him with her, because I don't think he's going to give her up without a fight."

"That's what I'm worried about, Shawn." She lifted her head to look at him. "I'm worried that he's going to fight…and that Lita's the one that's going to get hurt. Even if he doesn't mean to do it."

xxxxx

"You're hot."

He was pretty sure he'd never had beer come out of his nose before and, given the feeling, he really hoped it wouldn't happen again. "Excuse me?"

She shrugged. "You're hot."

"I, uh, thank you?"

Victoria laughed and downed the shot in front of her. "A man your size really shouldn't blush, it doesn't fit with the tough guy thing."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "A woman your size really shouldn't drink that much tequila, it doesn't fit with the being able to walk thing."

"Walking's overrated, I prefer being horizontal." She winked at him.

"Are you hitting on me?" he asked incredulously.

"You have to ask?"

"Yes, yes, I do. Because I really feel like I've stepped into the twilight zone, for the millionth time tonight." He wondered if she even knew what she was saying; she was plastered, he reasoned, so she likely didn't. Suddenly he wanted another drink.

"It has been crazy, hasn't it?"

Dave laughed and picked up his beer. "You can say that again."

"It has been crazy, hasn't it?" she said, a Cheshire grin on her face. He chuckled and she tilted her head to one side, looking at him with a soft smile. "That suits you, you know."

"What?"

"That smile. I kinda thought you might have a creepy smile, but it's really not."

"I'm really not sure what to do with that statement," Dave said, trying to work out if he had just been insulted.

Victoria shrugged and called over the bartender. "More," she said, smiling innocently at the man, holding out her shot glass. The man glanced at Batista questioningly.

"Hey! I'm here, I'm asking for more tequila, why are you looking at him?"

"I think you've had enough, miss," the man answered. "I can get you a glass of water, if you like, but-"

"Water? I don't want water. And what do you mean 'Miss'?" Victoria demanded indignantly. "I'll have you know I could kick your ass."

"Okay," Batista said, standing up and gripping her by the arm. "Let's get you to bed."

"Ooh," she said, suddenly eyeing him like he was her next meal. "That sounds like fun, will you be there?"

"What room are you staying in?"

"I don't know," she said silkily, "what's your room number?"

Dave laughed and pulled her away from the bar. He turned to the bartender and handed him a large tip before leading the drunken Diva to the booth where the Hardy brothers were seated.

"Do either of you know where this wench is staying tonight?"

"Wench?" Victoria spluttered and he smirked at her. "Wench?"

"God, are they flirting?" Matt asked his brother. "'Cause I already witnessed enough X-Files moments tonight."

Jeff smirked. "I think she's in with Lita, but I believe that room's currently taken," he finished, his smile fading a little as he remember exactly why that was.

Dave frowned. "I actually knew that. I think I might be drunk."

Jeff and Matt exchanged amused glances. "Then maybe its best you go sleep it off."

"Separately," Matt added, not particularly wanting to deal with _that_ fall out in the morning.

"She can have Hunter's bed," Dave said, glancing curiously at Victoria who seemed to be counting her fingers.

"Four. That's not right."

"That's because you have five fingers, honey," Jeff said indulgently. "See."

The look Victoria sent him could have frozen fuel. "I know that, Hardy, I am not completely incontinent."

"I think you mean incompetent," Dave said as the Hardy brothers dissolved in laughter.

"I said that," the Diva replied icily. "What I meant," she continued, "was that people are missing. I know our resident couples disappeared when we got back, but where's Edge? And where's Kane?"

"He hightailed it to the airport," Matt said, after he had managed to control his laughter. "We assume he made it on time given that Stacy hasn't called us to yell at us."

"You switched your cell off so she _couldn't_ do that," Jeff reminded his brother.

"Yeah, well." Matt looked a little guilty.

"And Edge called it a night a while ago," Jeff said, answering her first enquiry. "Speaking of, think I might turn in."

There was a general consensus and the four of them made their way to the door, Victoria leaning heavily on Dave as they made their way to the elevator. Dave shifted a little on his feet when they found themselves alone in the small space. It was barely six hours since he had been someone they would cross the street to avoid and there he was escorting one drunken Diva to the spare bed in his room and making small talk with the Hardy Boys. It had been one hell of a weird night.

"This is us," Jeff said as the lift stopped on the second floor. They Hardys exited the lift, stopping only when Victoria reached out top grab Jeff's sleeve.

"I'm really sorry," she said and, when the youngest Hardy frowned, she continued, "I know you and Trish used to date."

"That was a long time ago," Jeff said softly. "An' I don't think she was ever who I thought she was. She hurt Lita and I'm kinda grateful that you handled it." He didn't say it, but she knew the end of the sentence was 'because I couldn't have'.

She smiled at him and he winked at her before stepping completely into the hallway. As the elevator doors closed he grinned.

"And try to make sure the sex isn't too loud, you're right above us and I want _some_ sleep tonight."

Luckily for him, the doors closed before either of them could come up with a reply.

xxxxx

**End of Part Twelve  
**

xxxxx


	14. Part Thirteen

xxxxx

**Part Thirteen**

xxxxx

There was someone in the shower. It was a slow realisation to come to, but then he was only just beginning to wake up. He felt the loss of her beside him before the realisation that she had even been there had registered. It didn't take long for everything to slot into place, but it was over half an hour later before he felt ready to face what the day might bring.

Pushing himself up off the bed, he rubbed his eyes, frowning when he realised something; the shower was still going. There was a lot of steam coming from under the bathroom door and, without thinking twice, he crossed the room and opened it, his eyes stinging with the heat.

It took a few seconds before he could see through the steam and a few more to locate her under the spray. Her skin was bright red and she was shaking, despite the temperature.

He cursed and walked over to the shower, pulling the glass door open and reaching forward to turn off the water. He picked up the towel off the rail and hesitated a moment.

"Lita?" he said softly and she slowly turned her head. Waiting to make sure that she wasn't about to scream at him, he stepped forward, wrapping the towel around her and pulling her into his embrace. They stood there quietly for a while, before she shifted back a little.

"You're getting wet," she said quietly.

"I don't care." He pulled her close again and kissed the top of her head.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked and he could hear the tears even if he couldn't see them.

"Because I want to, I want to be here." He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "I think we need to talk," he said and, after a moment's hesitation, she nodded.

xxxxx

Victoria groaned and scrunched her eyes closed, attempting to pull the pillow beside her over her head. However, something heavy seemed to be impeding her progress on that matter. Slowly, not quite sure she wanted to know, she reached out a hand and was greeted by a grunt of pain. She turned her head to see what was lying next to her on the bed. Given that her finger was currently in his eye, she thought that Dave Batista looked rather calm under the circumstances.

"Am I wearing any clothes?" she asked resignedly.

"You want _me_ to check?"

"Yes? No? I don't know." She groaned and buried her head into the pillow.

"Could you remove your finger from my eye, please?"

She quickly withdrew her hand and groaned again. "How much did we drink last night?"

"I have no idea, but I remember a lot of creative ways to kill Randy Orton and Ric Flair. We may have had a competition to see who could come up with the goriest." Dave frowned. "I think you won. It was rather terrifying. I don't remember much more. Except that I think the Hardy's were there at some point. Were they there?"

"I vaguely remember tequila; that's the extent of my memory. That and I may have groped some random guy in the corridor outside the ladies."

"That was me."

"Oh, right. Sorry?"

"I'm not."

"Score," Victoria said, her voice deadpan. A moment later she lifted her head to look at him, seeming unsure. "Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Score?"

"Victoria, I am _not_ checking to see if you're naked. I value my life."

"It's not like I'm not asking you to check with your hands," she said touchily.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I check with my eyes and you _are_ naked, then I'm not likely to be able to control my hands."

"Oh, please."

He turned his head in time to see her roll her eyes. "Four months," he said softly.

"What?" She frowned. "It's early and I have a hangover, don't try to be cryptic."

"I've been trying to ask you out for four months." She opened her mouth, but (for once) nothing came out, so he continued. "That time you almost stood on me when you stepped out of the Diva's locker room? That was the first time I came to ask and you just snapped at me and walked off with your friends. You probably don't even remember it. Every time I passed you in the hallway, I turned to ask, but you were already gone by the time I could remember how to say the word 'hello'. And you probably never even noticed I was there."

She didn't think she'd ever seen someone like him looking so vulnerable before and, as if realising that was what she was seeing, he quickly moved to stand up.

"I noticed you," she said and he turned to her. "I won't lie and say I noticed you in a _good _way," she continued and he chuckled. "But I did notice and I was curious."

Dave nodded, standing up, and she was no longer sure if she was happy about the fact that he was still wearing his jeans from the night before.

"Victoria," he said, not turning around. "You're dressed."

She smiled as he headed into the bathroom. Then she frowned. "How did you know that if you didn't look? Dave? Dave!"

xxxxx

**End of Part Thirteen**

xxxxx


	15. Part Fourteen

xxxxx

**Part Fourteen**

xxxxx

She was curled up on the centre of her bed, the hotel dressing gown wrapped tightly around her. She looked so small, but she no longer looked so lost. Somehow, in the time that it had taken him to shower and dress (albeit in the same clothes), she had managed to find some strength, because, for the first time in a while, he could see _her_. Unfortunately, that fact was playing havoc with his nerves.

"Are we actually going to talk, or just sit here?" she asked eventually and he smiled unsurely.

"I have no idea where to begin."

"I do," she said, staring at him evenly. He sat on the bed behind him; he had the feeling he wasn't going to like addressing whatever she was about to say. "That night; what happened that night to make you decide not to come?"

His mouth twitched, but he didn't answer right away. "A lot of things." He paused, but she was clearly expecting more of an answer than that. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair and took a moment before looking right at her.

"We always said that it was just for fun, but neither of us left in the morning without waking the other person," he began softly. "We said we didn't want anything serious, it was just to pass the time, but I knew how you took your eggs at breakfast. I knew that you always brush your hair from the top, even though it tangles and you spend ten minutes cursing because you can't get them out. I knew that you always leave the cap off the top of the toothpaste. That you sing off key in the shower. That, even though you insist that you never listen to crap music, you have every Britney Spears album and you know them by heart. I realised that I knew more about you than I ever knew about anyone else in my life, even my best friends, and that night was when it hit me."

"So, what," she said, uncurling her legs and moving towards him, "you figured out that I was a closet Britney fan and decided it was time to move on?"

"No, I-"

"You decided that I like my eggs scrambled, so we couldn't possibly be compatible?"

He stood up, facing her. "Lita-"

"You decided I can't sing so I couldn't possibly be worth your time?"

"Will you listen t-"

"You decided that I just wasn't good enough for you?"

"No, I decided that I was in love with you and I didn't want to get hurt again!"

His words hung in the air around them. He didn't think he'd ever seen her so shocked. He was pretty shocked himself. They stood staring at each other for what seemed like hours, but he knew it could have barely been a few minutes.

"Don't lie to me," she said, her voice cracking.

"I don't lie."

She closed her eyes and he could see the tears collecting under her lashes. He didn't even try to stop himself from reaching to brush them away. She jerked under his touch and tried to step away, but he took hold of her arms.

"I don't lie, Lita," he repeated and she shook her head, so he said it again.

"Don't," she pleaded. "Please don't."

He shook his head. "I'm not backing down, Li, I want this baby and I want _you_."

"No, you don't. We agreed. We agreed that it was just for fun and…we agreed."

"Tell me you don't love me," he said. "Tell me you don't want me and I will walk out of this room and leave you alone. I'll just be there for the baby and not you, but only if you can tell me that you don't love me."

"I-" She took a deep breath. "I don't love you," she whispered.

He faltered for a moment before shaking his head. "You're lying. Say it again."

"I don't love you," she repeated, her voice uncertain.

"At least pretend to mean it."

"I don't love you."

"Again."

"I-I don't love you."

"Again."

"I don't love you," she said, but the tears on her face, the look in her eyes said otherwise.

"Liar," he whispered and, without giving her the chance to move away, he kissed her.

xxxxx

**End of Part Fourteen**

xxxxx

Sorry it's short, but there's only one chapter left to go now. I'm really sorry that I've not been able to upload on a regular basis, but I don't have an internet connection at the flat. I'll try to get the last part added at the start of next week.


	16. Part Fifteen

**Thank you all so much for your reveiews and your patience with this one. It's been a long ride, I guess! Thanks again and hope you enjoy the final installment of IMD.**

xxxxx

**Part Fifteen**

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"Well, this is awkward."

"Just a bit," he said, clearing his throat. "What now?"

"We could make out." At his look, she smiled unsurely. "Just a suggestion."

"Maybe we could talk?"

"Talking it is then." There was silence and she drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. "Okay, this is working well."

"I'm a little uncomfortable here."

"Well, with you just having admitted to stalker-like tendencies, I can understand why. Although, shouldn't I be the one who's uncomfortable?" she asked with a smile.

"I did not stalk you," Dave said sharply.

Victoria looked at him sceptically. "You just told me you used to follow me around. That's stalking."

"I didn't follow you around, I just made sure to cross your path. If I sometimes came at you from behind, that was just coincidence, not stalking."

"For future reference," she said with a smirk, "I prefer a frontal assault."

"I-Future reference?" he asked with interest.

She shrugged. "We'll see."

"I can handle that," he said with a smile and she grinned. Yeah, he could definitely handle that.

xxxxx

Lita giggled as his fingers ran across her stomach, his light touch sending shivers through her. She looked down as he pressed his lips to the skin just above her belly button. She was barely beginning to show, but he seemed fascinated by the small bump of her abdomen.

"Our baby's in there," he said almost reverently. He looked up at her, grinning like a fool and she couldn't help but grin back. "We're having a baby."

"I know."

Of course she knew. She'd known for a while. Somehow, though, with Hunter lying next to her, talking in hushed tones to her stomach, it all seemed so much more real, as if she hadn't known before, not really. She wasn't sure she could handle it if that feeling got taken away.

"Management are going to want an explanation," she said softly and he looked up at her.

"I'll handle Steph." He smiled. "She kinda likes me."

Lita rolled her eyes. "She had a crush a few years back, doesn't mean she's going to do everything you say." She took a deep breath. "I don't want them anywhere near me. Not while I can't protect this baby. Pregnancy and just injuries don't work together."

"I won't let them touch you. If you want, we can tell management everything that happened last night. You know as well as I do that your safety comes first. Steph would flip if she found out what they'd done. And she will find out."

"I know," Lita said with a sigh. "But I won't cost them their jobs, even if they do deserve it." She grinned. "I'd much rather watch you and Dave beat them up on National TV."

"I think I can handle that." He chuckled. "I think your boys might want a shot as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff Hardy requests a contract to do just that."

"Oh, God, Jeff!" She sat upright, her eyes wide. "Jeff was there, wasn't he?"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, he was. But I think he understands. You were a little out of it."

Lita nodded. "He knows I'll find him. I just…he must have come to surprise me and, well, some surprise he got."

"I'm sure he'll stick around to see you. You guys are…close. Aren't you?"

Lita smiled. "Yeah, but not like that. We've never been like that."

"Oh," Hunter said, clearing his throat. He looked uncomfortable, but she could he was relieved by that answer.

"You're bruising," she said and he frowned. "Your chin." She reached out and tenderly traced the area that was turning blue. "I did that, didn't I? I'm sorry."

"I think I kinda deserved to be hit at some point." At her look, he chuckled. "Okay, at quite a few points. I messed up, Li, and I'm sorry."

She smiled briefly and nodded. "So," she began hesitantly, almost afraid of what he might say. "What happens now?"

"Now we get to know each other again," he said and she relaxed a little.

She knew she had changed since they had broken up, but she hadn't thought he would realise that, not really. She had thought he might want everything to go back to the way it was. But she wanted more.

"I don't have all the answers, Lita," he said, sitting up and looking her in the eyes. "But I love you and I want to be with you. Everything else we deal with along the way."

"I was going to tell you that last night you called, you know," she said softly. "We'd agreed to stop and then, I got drunk and poured my heart out to Jeff, apparently. I remember the hangover, but that's about it. But…even after that, I couldn't stop myself from going to you for one more night. And then…I just… You didn't come near me for about two weeks and then you called and I was going to tell you, but you said it was a mistake. I was so scared and I didn't know how I was going to say it…but you were gone. I didn't know how to tell you after that. I mean, Randy and Ric could've hurt me and I didn't know if Dave would and…and you were gone."

"Lita-"

"No, I need to say this. You really hurt me, Hunter. You ignored my calls and you weren't there. Even when you knew this baby had to be yours."

"I didn't know how to fix it."

"You didn't even try."

"I know," he said, closing his eyes.

"I really want to be able to say that I don't love you." He quirked his mouth and she smiled a little. "To be able to say it and mean it and the fact that I can't doesn't change that I want to."

"Then I'll have to change it for you." He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her forehead. "I won't get everything right, Lita, but I want to."

"Well, that's a start."

He tilted her head up until she was looking at him. "I love you."

She smiled. "I think I believe you, you know." After hesitating a moment, she reached up to touch his cheek. "I love you, too."

He let out a breath and leaned forward to kiss her again, muttering, "I'm so glad you missed out the 'don't' this time."

xxxxx

"Jeff!"

He barely had the chance to stop them from falling over when she flew into his arms. "You're pretty excited to see me for someone who all but ignored me since I got here."

She pulled back and looked at him sadly. "I'm so sorry."

He smiled. "Don't be. So long as you're okay. You are okay, right? I don't have to hurt Triple H?"

Lita smiled and shook her head. "No, Jeff, you don't have to hurt him."

He raised his eyebrows. "Someone looks happy."

"I think I might be," she said softly. "For the first time in a long time, I might be happy, Jeff."

"Might be?" The voice came from behind them and they turned to see The Game leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and eyebrows raised indignantly.

"I'm still deciding," the redhead said with a sharp nod. She knew there was a smile playing around her lips, but simply turned away from him and led Jeff to the bench at the far end of the locker room.

Sitting down next to Chris, she pulled Jeff after her so that she was sat between her two best friends. She had spoken to both Lilian and Victoria on the phone earlier that day (Victoria had managed to talk Steph into pushing a feud against Trish and she was very excited about it) and Matt and Edge had called in briefly to see her, even Dave had stopped by, but her best friends had been noticeably absent. She knew that, to most people, that would be seen as them being uncaring, but Lita knew that they were giving her the space she needed. They knew she would find them when she needed them.

"So," Chris said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Kane and Stacy called to speak to you; said they couldn't get you on your cell."

"I switched it off. We had a lot to talk about." Lita glanced at him, but he just nodded. "Did they make the wedding okay? I didn't even register that Kane was in that room until well after the fact." Their smiles faded, but she ignored them. She wasn't ready to talk about that yet. "Stacy must have been going round the bend."

"She's just glad you're okay," Jeff said, then smirked. "Although, I don't doubt she had somethin' to say about it to Kane."

"He is so whipped," Chris said laughing and when Lita and Jeff raised their eyebrows at him he frowned. "What?"

"Pot, meet Kettle," Jeff said, glancing at Lilian. Chris scowled as they laughed at him, drawing the attention of the others in the room, but no one asked. Jeff and Lita laughing at Chris wasn't really that unusual.

"Thank you," she said softly, breaking into the laughter. She smiled and they both kissed her, one cheek each. She chuckled, smirking at the look Hunter sent her way. "Really," she said, turning her attention back to them. "Thank you for knowing I needed time alone with him and for not judging me too much."

"Not our place to judge you, Li-Li," Jeff said and she rolled her eyes as he ruffled her hair. "You love him and that's enough for us."

"Yeah," Chris said, "just know that we're always here to beat him up if you need it."

They laughed and Jeff nodded towards the doorway. "Something tells me Ivory might beat us to it."

Lita turned to look, laughing when she saw her sister talking to Hunter. From the look on his face, she guessed that Ivory might be explaining some of those painful torture methods Shawn had mentioned her describing on the flight over. Lita exchanged an amused glance with her sister's boyfriend, before looking around the room. Victoria and Dave were in one corner, chatting rather cosily and she made a mental note to grill her friend about that later, and Lilian, Edge, and Matt were in the far corner of the room, laughing about something.

She smiled to herself; her hand splayed against her stomach as she thought about the child growing inside her. She leaned back into Chris' embrace, letting Jeff play with her hair as her two best friends chatted aimlessly. It hadn't been too long ago that she had felt like a stranger to herself, lost and alone in a crowd of people. Now she felt as if everything was beginning to fall into place. She didn't know what was going to happen with her and Hunter, but she did know one thing; she was going to be a mother and she wasn't going to be afraid, or alone, anymore.

xxxxx

**The End**

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